Co-Founder, Generate
Co-founder of Generate, a cross-platform production and management company; co-founder, and later president, of the now defunct WB Network
PROFILE
Jordan Levin
Guest
FROM Jordan Levin
Which Way, L.A.?
Hollywood Meets the Internet and Economic Reality Hollywood is waking up to technology and economics. Studios are becoming revolving doors for executives, and the standards for "green-lighting" new projects aren't what they used to be.
To the Point
Hollywood Meets the Internet and Economic Reality With so much free content on-line, the business model for movies just doesn't work any more. Revenues from DVD's are declining fast, as is backing from wealthy "angels" with big money to spend. And this was a summer of box-office flops. Studios are becoming revolving doors for executives, and are basing productions on comic books, graphic novels, webisodes and video games that can be serialized and "branded" for easy marketing. "Specialty" projects aimed at adults are fewer and farther between. We see how the wide world of entertainment is changing.
To the Point
Viacom Sues YouTube The Internet website YouTube is growing like mad. Last year's nine million monthly visitors skyrocketed to 133 million this year, and Google purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion. Surveys show that 100 million video clips are viewed on YouTube every day and they're not all amateur home movies. Big-time producers want their pieces of YouTube's action. Viacom -- which owns Comedy Central , MTV and Nickelodeon --says Jon Stewart , Stephen Colbert and SpongeBob SquarePants have been appearing on YouTube for free. So, Viacom has sued YouTube for a billion dollars in damages. Will innovation and creativity be delayed as the law catches up with technology? We get perspective from attorneys, media analysts and former network execs.
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Zócalo's Connecting California
Too rich for our own good Affluent communities put their futures as risk when they become unaffordable for everyone but the wealthy.
To the Point
The Voting is Over, but the Campaign Continues Women had a major impact on the midterm elections. So did $5 billion in campaign spending. Meantime, Democrats now lead the House while Republicans dominate the Senate, and the politics of division continues on Capitol Hill. We’ll hear how former House Speaker Newt Gingrich helped start an era of gridlock and perpetual campaigning.